Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Count the Omer: Day 29

Day 29: Chesed sheb'Hod, Lovingkindness within Majesty/GratitudeTonight, we begin the week of hod, which is gratitude, humility, and majesty. It is a week for figuring out how to be humble and majestic and for learning how to express thanks. The concept of Hod is related to prayer. Tonight, I will say the blessing for counting the Omer, and then the Bedtime Sh'ma. Thanks to Jeff Seidel's student information center in Jerusalem, I received a copy of the Women's siddur on my Birthright trip this winter and started reciting the morning and (not quite as often) the bedtime prayers. The Bedtime Sh'ma is particularly helpful to me after a tough day.

It begins: "Master of the Universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me."

Expressing my frustrations to God and forgiving others at the end of the day serves two purposes for me:

It allows me to let go of that negativity and start fresh in the morning.

It reminds me that God is there to help.

I am grateful for the ability to vent to God every day. This venting allows me to get up the next day without holding a grudge, and be kind to someone who may have bothered me yesterday.